The present study explored the relationship between biological motion (BioM) processing, motor skills, and autistic traits within a non-clinical sample of 621 adults (18-73 years, 51.8% female). Results indicated that adults with greater autistic traits also endorsed difficulties associated with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) in…

Research suggests that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are unaware of their competencies in many domains. The current study examines whether self-perception of academic competency differs in children with ASD compared to typically-developing (TD) controls and whether estimations change after providing feedback. Sixty participants,…

Individuals with higher levels of the broad autism phenotype (BAP) have some symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Like individuals with ASD, people with higher-BAP may have fewer sexual experiences and may experience more same-sex attraction. This study measured BAP traits, sexual experiences, and sexual orientation in typically developing…

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have higher rates of co-occurring diagnoses and use of psychotropic medication prescriptions than people with other developmental disabilities. Few studies have examined these trends in samples of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) with and without ASD. Using a random…

Autistic traits and executive function (EF) were assessed in 413 typically developing children aged 6-9 years. The children were divided into the high- autistic-trait (HAT) and low-autistic-trait (LAT) groups based on their total autistic traits. Results suggested that there were gender differences in specific autistic traits in children with LAT.…

Amygdala dysfunction plays a role in the social impairments in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), but it is unclear which of its subregions are abnormal in ASD. This study compared the volume and functional connectivity (FC) strength of three FC-defined amygdala subregions between ASD and controls, and assessed their relation to social skills in…

Social-emotional behavior in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was examined among high-risk (HR; siblings of children diagnosed with ASD) and low-risk (LR; no family history of ASD) toddlers. Caregivers completed the Infant-Toddler Social Emotional Assessment (ITSEA) at 18 months, and blind diagnostic assessment for ASD was conducted at 36 months.…

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often exhibit increased anxiety, even in non-stressful situations. We investigate general anxiousness (anxiety trait) and responses to stressful situations (anxiety state) in 22 adolescents with ASD and 32 typically developing controls. We measured trait anxiety with standardized self- and…

A novel battery (BAFE; Valeri et al. 2015) was used in order to assess three executive function (EF) abilities (working memory, inhibition and shifting) in a sample of 27 intellectually able preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared with 27 typically developing children matched on age and nonverbal IQ. Differences in EF skills were…

Children with autism experience challenges with emotion regulation. It is unclear how children's management of their emotions is associated with their family's quality of life. Forty-three preschoolers with autism and 28 typically developing preschoolers were coded on emotion regulation strategies used during low-level stress tasks. Parents…

The aim of this study was to examine the relation between symbolic play and communicative engagement among children with and without autism. Our predictions were firstly, that in moment-by-moment interactions during semi-structured interactive play with an adult, children with and without autism would tend to show shifts in meanings in symbolic…

Two studies examined the psychometric properties of the Theory of Mind Inventory (ToMI). In Study One, 135 caregivers completed the ToMI for children (ages 3 through 17) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Findings revealed excellent test-retest reliability and internal consistency. Principle Components Analysis revealed three subscales related…

Symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were assessed (Social Responsiveness Scale-Parent (SRS-P); coded in-session behavior) in typically-developing, anxiety-disordered children (N = 50) treated with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). "Study 1": children with moderate autistic symptomology (per SRS-P) were significantly more likely to improve…

The hypothesis that a pervasive impairment of declarative memory contributes to language impairment in low functioning autism (LFA) was tested. Participants with LFA, high functioning autism (HFA), intellectual disability (ID) without autism, and typical development (TD) were given two recognition tests and four tests of lexical understanding. It…

In 118 children followed from age 2 to 5 (59 with autism, 24 with PDD-NOS and 35 with non-spectrum developmental disabilities), age 2 and age 3 scores of non-verbal ability, receptive communication, expressive communication and socialization were compared as predictors of receptive and expressive language at age 5. Non-verbal cognitive ability at…